Choosing Corrective Exercises for the Upper Body

Foreword

If you do, are you confident that you aren’t just wasting your client’s time?

Most clients think this kind of “exercise” is boring. And if you’ve only got 30 minutes with a client, are you really going to spend that much time on it? What’s left to address their actual goals?

We’ve put together this post–one of our most thorough–to help you pick an exercise or two that will help your client correct imbalances, gain mobility, and, ultimately, augment their training. It includes:

$1 for your first week

Introduction

When someone says they prescribe “corrective exercise”, I start to wonder…

Is this the best use of your time?

Are you aware of the anatomy you’re affecting?

Do you know the actual cause of the dysfunction you’re diagnosing?

Is it really even a dysfunction to begin with?

Are you giving them just general mobility drills?

Or are you actually prescribing something for a specific solution?

Trainers everywhere prescribe shoulder rotations and hip circles and whatever else, but these exercises either

have no purpose, or

are based off of poor reasoning

Honestly, I don’t even like the term “corrective exercise”. It’s not specific enough for me. I only use it because it’s familiar.

A common example: banded shoulder IR/ER to “strengthen the shoulder”

These types of exercises can be useful. I use them. But I only use them once the bigger issues have been resolved. When people come to me complaining of shoulder pain or some sort of mobility restriction, I always make sure to clear up their thorax position first.

Why?

Because the shoulder sits on the thorax. If your ribs can’t move, then you’ll compensate somewhere else (e.g. the shoulder blade, the shoulder joint, the elbow, the wrist).

I’m not going to sugar coat this: prescribing good corrective exercise is not easy. There’s a lot of anatomy, physiology, and psychology to consider.

Overview of this post

My goal with this post was to make prescribing corrective exercise as simple as possible. There are three main tests, in a specific order, and suggested exercises to prescribe. We go through the rationale behind the tests so that you can even think up your own exercises on the fly when you start experimenting with your clients.

To simplify things even further, we’ve included a Google Sheet that will guide you through the whole process.

Follow this treatment algorithm:

Get lower rib cage position first

Then upper chest expansion

Then posterior rib cage expansion

Recommended reading

If you’re a total newbie when it comes to breathing mechanics, you may enjoy reading Anatomy of Breathing. It’s an easy and painless read.

Okay, almost time to get into the videos. But first, let’s get you the assessment sheet.

Part 1 – The assessment process

In part one, we discuss…

Why are rib cages shaped differently?

How people with longer torsos look

How people with shorter torsos look

What muscles pull the ribs outward?

What muscle pulls the ribs inward?

Where the inspiratory intercostals are located

What kinds of positions are best for people with wide lower rib cages

What kinds of positions are best for people with narrow lower rib cages

Which type of client needs more help with their pelvic position

What’s going on with your clients who have pooched bellies and flat chests

What to do when your client’s rib cage is asymmetrical (like Lance’s)

Exercises mentioned:

Shoulder Hang

Supine Overhead Reach activities

Walkout from Knees

Rollout on Swiss Ball

PNF Diagonals

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Side bar on how to address your female clients who worry about growing too big and bulky

What happens to the ribs when the shoulders internally rotate

When you should ABSOLUTELY NOT use a side plank with a client

Normally a video goes here! If you’d like to watch it, join our private discussion forum with hundreds of other professionals from around the world, and have the ability to post comments, then become a member!

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